The Oahe Dam Reservoir at Pierre is playing a critical role this summer in preventing major flooding along the Missouri River.
US Army Corps of Engineers operations project manager for the Oahe Project Eric Stasch says there have been issues both above Oahe and below it this year.
Stasch says Oahe is currently storing water in its exclusive flood control pool.
The high water level is causing some minor damage around Lake Oahe.
Oahe Dam releases averaged 43,300 cubic feet per second (or about 324-thousand gallons per second) during July and the reservoir rose 2.9 feet during the month. Releases are expected to average 53-thousand cubic feet per second (or roughly 396-thousand gallons per second) in August. Oahe is expected to end the month near 1615.9 feet in elevation.
In a release today (Tues.), the Corps says it plans to maintain higher-than-average releases from all Missouri River dams through the summer and fall.